Animation with Pivot Animator

Completed by 87 learners

Ages 10-13

Live Group Class

Learn to create stick figure animations with Pivot Animator.

David

Average rating:

4.8

Number of reviews:

(45 reviews)

Live video meetings

1x per week, 2 weeks

3-10 learners per class

50 min

About Learning Overview Teacher Reviews

What's included

2 live meetings

1 hrs 40 mins in-class hours

Class Experience

Students will learn the basics of animation through a short presentation about animation and through examples. Students will then learn how to animate using Pivot Animator to tell a story. 

No background knowledge is required. Students will be required to work on their animation for homework. 

Week 1 Agenda:
-Discuss what animation is and what animators do to create animations.
-Give examples of animations.
-Brainstorm story ideas to turn into an animation.
-Learn how open and use Pivot Animator to create an animation.
-Create a background for your animation. 
-Begin Animating.

Week 2 Agenda:
-How to export Animations.
-Share Animations.
-How to improve animations.

Other Details

Supply List

NOTE: Pivot Animator only works on Windows. I have found some workarounds listed below, but I have not used them very much and therefore won't be able to provide a lot of support with them. You are welcome to try one of them if you would like. 

For this class you will need to download and install Pivot Animator  on your computer. It is a free program. Go to https://pivotanimator.net/ Click on download. Download Pivot Animator 4. Then open the file and it will prompt you to install it on your computer. 

Note from the Pivot Animator Website:
A few browsers and anti-virus software, such as Norton, may give warnings for Pivot. These are false alarms that can occur because some will flag anything that they don't recognize. The Pivot installer does include offers for other software, but they're all optional during installation and will not harm your computer. Pivot and the installer are safe. 

If you don't have access to a windows computer, you may try one of the following work-arounds if you wish. Again, I don't have a lot of experience with them so I won't be able to provide as much support with them. 

For Mac: STYKZ - Very similar to Pivot Animator
https://www.stykz.net/

Online editor that can be used with chromebooks but doesn't have quite as many tools:
http://antimatter15.com/ajaxanimator/stick2/stick2.html (Has issues with saving animations)
Stick Nodes App-
http://sticknodes.com/sticks/stick-nodes-app-nodes/

External Resources

In addition to the Outschool classroom, this class uses:

Pivot Animator

Meet the teacher

David

Joined December, 2018

4.8

45reviews

Profile

Teacher expertise and credentials

I am currently a certified Career and Technology Education teacher. My students love learning about and using Pivot Animator and I'd like to share this with others. Pivot Animator is a very easy to use platform and a good way to gain some experience with animation. Those who find they love animating can then choose various classes to lead them to a career in animation.